Singleton, King help Mascoutah race past Highland for MVC conference win
When Mascoutah’s Darien Singleton and Justin King are dialed in and clicking, the Indians are really tough to beat.
On Friday, Jan, 14, the Highland Bulldogs were the latest opponent to find that out the hard way.
King and Singleton attacked the Bulldogs with their quickness and inside-outside shooting, while the Indians outworked Highland on the boards en route to a 67-45 Mississippi Valley Conference victory at Mascoutah High School.
Highland, which clipped Jerseyville for a 51-50 victory Wednesday, Jan. 12, slipped to 8-11 overall and 3-3 in MVC play as the Bulldogs struggled to find any rhythm against the athletic and poised Indians.
“One day of practice will not just fix everything,” said Highland coach Deryl Cunningham, who was back on the bench for the first time in six weeks since his kidney transplant procedure in December. “Some things have got to tighten up discipline-wise and we’ll get there. I let the guys talk and they know what we’re about and how we get there and we’ve just got to get back to some basics.”
Both teams came out a bit sloppy in the early minutes of the game as the defenses were locked in early.
A King three-point play and a Singleton bucket set off a 12-1 run that pushed the Indians to a 17-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Early foul trouble for Cade Altadonna and Gunnar Mackey also put the Bulldogs in a tough spot in the first quarter as both had to sit with two fouls apiece.
“Cade got in foul trouble kind of early and it hurt us and one of our bigs got a couple (fouls) and it hurt us. Those are some of our main guys and once that happens it can change the game fast,” Cunningham said.
Mascoutah (14-3, 4-0) began to pull away midway through the third quarter.
A 15-8 run started by a King 3-pointer and capped by Singelton trey pushed the Indians lead to 49-23 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. Singleton led Mascoutah with a game-high 23 points and King, who is headed to UM-St. Louis this fall, added 20 points.
“They’ve got another gear,” Cunningham said. “They’re a good team. King has another gear and Singleton has another gear and they know that and they play with each other pretty well.”
Although his first game back on the bench did not go into the win column, Cunnigham was still quite happy to be back on the floor coaching the Bulldogs.
“It feels good to be back,” Cunningham said. “I feel really good and it’s great to be back out here with these guys.”
Highland looks forward
The Bulldogs also should get some more help soon as junior guard Brendan Gelly, who has been out recently with Mononucleosis, is hopeful to be medically cleared to play soon.
“We still haven’t had our full team yet and Brendan’s been a big part of that,” Cunningham said. “He’s really developed in his three years with us and he’s a kid that will speak up and that’s why he’s a captain.”
Jake Ottensmeier paced Highland with 16 points. Altadonna scored 8 points.
HHS returns to action on Monday at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, with a first-round game against Roxana in the 2022 Okawville Tournament.
